I’m just now finishing my nearly 2 week dosing of Prednisone (steroids) for my Asthma and I am almost fully recovered from my flu/cold/asthma illness. I can tell you that it is not a fun experience for a variety of reasons and that I am ready to get back in the saddle and continue on my Medifast weight loss journey.

More than one person has asked me in the last couple of weeks why I would stop the Medifast program just because I was sick. There is a long and short answer to that question and I will give you both. The short answer is, I knew I was going to gain weight from taking the steroids to treat my asthma.

The long answer is a bit more complicated. You see, I have a habit of associating things in my life. For one reason or another I find that I associate experiences good or bad with specific actions or events in my life. I don’t mean to do it but I do and it creates a very black and white way of filing things in my memory. For example, if I were to go to a concert and I had a poor experiencing getting my tickets through a ticket outlet, I would associate that bad experience with concert going in general and you would be hard pressed to get me to go to another concert.

A real world experience that happened recently involved ping pong. My neighbor got a ping pong table for Christmas and all of the neighborhood men were over playing it every night after work in his garage. I finally made my way over to play and found that I was the only one in the group that didn’t have this long history with the game and I quickly found myself being mocked for my inability by one person in general. Rather than focus on getting better or laughing it off for innocent ribbing, I decided I just wouldn’t play it any more because the experience was quite negative. That is just how my brain works.

So, all of that having been said, let me get back to me and Medifast. Knowing that I was going to gain weight no matter how well I did on the program as soon as I started taking the steroids, I decided to stop the program to prevent myself from associating the program with failure and quitting all together. I know it sounds strange and childish but knowing myself as I do, I know I would have blamed Medifast (quite inappropriately) for not working as soon as the weight from the meds started to pack on.

So did I gain weight off the program? Of course I did. I have had a long history with taking Prednisone to treat my asthma and each time I have taken it I have gained a significant amount of weight which didn’t come back off for weeks. I weighed in this morning at a disheartening 328.6 lbs. That is about a 12lb gain in 2 weeks and for me not shocking. It isn’t from over-eating in any way shape or form, it is from water retention and the steroids. Knowing that makes it easy for me to get back on the Medifast Program and forge ahead with my weight loss.

If you haven’t read my earlier posts or if I had not mentioned it, it is this cycle of illness and medication that led me to Medifast in the first place. I have a complicated medical history concerning my weight, acid reflux, asthma and related issues. I have had a couple of close calls and hospital stays in the last 5 years and that alone is what is driving me to Medifast and weight loss. I worry about my weight, my health and my family because of my weight and it is enough to ensure I get back on the Medifast Program and stay with it.

Weight loss is not a journey with an end for me, it is a struggle and an eventual triumph over poor lifestyle choices and management of my own habits. It will not end at a goal weight it will be with me for life. Just like a drug addict is always a drug addict, a fat person is always a fat person in my mind, always in danger of becoming that fat person again no matter how much weight they might lose. So I am dedicated to overcoming the near future struggles, getting the weight off and take each day as it comes. I am full of inspiration, hope and motivation to clear up my asthma, get back on my bike and continue on the Medifast Program!

It’s good to be back!